Giants Show Why They’re Still Dangerous

Tuesday night’s game showed why anyone who is ready to stick a fork in the Giants need to put them back in the oven. They’re not done yet.

And not done in an still-mathematically-alive way. But not done in a dangerous, could-make-a-deep-run kind of way. The pieces are there and they were on display in the 14-inning, nearly-six-hour marathon win over the host Phillies in the wee hours of the night.

For the smart-mouths on Twitter, lemme clarify. Sure, many haven’t written the Giants off. But their issues are well-documented. I’m talking about from a win-it-all perspective. They fell off noticeably from a hot start and aren’t nearly as dominating as they were. They weren’t playing well until recently and still have several concerns when you start matching them up with the other contenders in the NL. But …

Even with the nagging injuries, and the mediocre performances from players they banked on, the Giants still have unique talents who can do special things. Perhaps enough to carry the Giants over a mediocre NL West. No team in the National League really should scare the Giants.

They’ve won 7 of 10, bouncing back from the fall from grace they endured earlier. They’ve gotten some good signs of late. The most encouraging is a warming Buster Posey.

He is looking fresh after getting some rest. His homer off Jonathan Papelbon capped a performance that was an emphatic reminder of how productive and clutch he can be.

Posey has 10 hits and 7 RBI his last five games. His current stretch has gotten him up to a .286 batting average and a .782 OPS. Both are solid but they’re not the best of Posey. As ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick noted, Posey has yet to click at AT&T. His OPS at home is .670, compared with .912 on the road.

If he gets hot, if he starts performing like the 2012 MVP, it’s on.

The Giants issues with their rotation seem to be getting a boost from Tim Lincecum. If he can just be decent between his throw-back freakish appearances, that would go a long way for Bruce Bochy, whose good enough to compensate for at least some of the mediocrity out of his arms.

Madison Bumgarner and Tim Hudson have been the saving grace for the rotation. Add a solid-and-occasionally-really-good Lincecum and a bullpen with the fourth-best ERA in the majors. Bochy can work with that, provided Posey and the offense clicks.

It would be great if Cain could get healthy and string together some quality starts, or if Brian Sabean can work a miracle and land a quality starter (in a thin, expensive market with not much to offer in return). But they have enough on the roster now to be dangerous.

They aren’t favorites. Several aspects need to click right. But that’s happened for the Giants before. And it’s in this oh-y’all-forgot-about-us? zone that they tend to start doing crazy stuff like winning a World Series.

And don’t forget, I’ve already called that recent-acquisition Dan Uggla will rise from the ranks of minors and defy his statistics of the last few years and come up with the game-winning hit to clinch the NL West for the Giants. But I must admit my bias: Uggla won me a fantasy league years ago, so I’m loyal to him.